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The Enemies of Versailles: A Novel
The Enemies of Versailles: A Novel
The Enemies of Versailles: A Novel
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The Enemies of Versailles: A Novel

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In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress.

“That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute is quite another kettle of fish.”

After decades of suffering the King's endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the dauphine Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress. But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.

Told in Christie’s witty and engaging style, the final book in The Mistresses of Versailles trilogy will delight and entrance fans as it once again brings to life the sumptuous and cruel world of eighteenth century Versailles, and France as it approaches irrevocable change.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherAtria Books
Release dateMar 21, 2017
ISBN9781501103049
Author

Sally Christie

Sally Christie is the author of The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles. She was born in England and grew up around the world, attending eight schools in three different languages. She spent most of her career working in international development and currently lives in Toronto. Visit SallyChristieAuthor.com to find out more about Sally and the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy.

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Having read the two previous books from the Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy, I was ecstatic when asked if I'd read and review the third and final instalment. I thoroughly enjoyed the previous two books and this one did not disappoint. The Enemies of Versailles begins with Jeanne Becu leaving the convent as a young teen. Because of her beauty she is quickly snapped up to sell ladies finery to the nobility of France. Jeanne becomes enamoured of the Compte du Barry who seduces her into a lifestyle of debauchery. He quickly sees her value in enticing the nobility to his salon and card games at which point he offers her to the many men who attend in the hope of an invitation to Versailles. When this happens, Jeanne quickly comes to the attention of Louis XV who is mourning the death of the Pompadour but also awaiting the death of his pious Queen. Du Barry marries Jeanne to his brother so that she can be presented to the King, thus begins their love affair that ends only with his death.Whilst Madame du Barry is the primary character of equal standing in this story is Louis's daughter Adelaide. The two stories are intertwined beautifully to create an understanding of the intrigue, politics and etiquette of a debauched French Court. Adelaide's hatred of Jeanne is relentless until the final moments of Louis's life where there is an understanding of Jeanne's love of her father. But the story does not end with the death of Louis. It is during this component of the story that you feel the impending doom creeping up as the story continues through the French Revolution and the final days and eventual fall of the Bourbon family. Jeanne's life after Louis, then her eventual imprisonment and her death are both heartwarming and sad. Adelaide and her sister were able to escape France to Italy where they lived until their eventual deaths. Despite survival, you feel the sadness of their situation and the loss of most of their family members. The Enemies of Versailles is a wonderful end to a brilliant series. I thoroughly enjoyed all three books and this final instalment was a fitting epitaph to a very sad time in history.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Although Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were the King and Queen beheaded during the French Revolution, much of the discontent of the populace that led to their execution was set during Louis-Auguste's grandfather, Louis XV's reign. Nowhere is this more apparent than in XV's final years, the years in which, ironically enough, he takes a common woman, in fact a low born, illegitimate Paris prostitute not only into his bed but into Versailles itself. Sally Christie's final installment in the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy (after The Sisters of Versailles and The Rivals of Versailles) details not only the rumblings of Louis XV's court as the unpopular monarch ages but also the life of his last, doomed mistress, Jeanne, Madame du Barry and that of his daughter, Madame Adelaide. Jeanne Becu is an angelic looking child who grows into a beautiful woman. Daughter of a cook, she "models", although perhaps entices is a better term, in a fashionable dress shop when she falls in love with the Comte du Barry, one of the store's wealthy patrons. He makes the fresh looking beauty his mistress, awakening her sexuality and trying to curb what he sees as her frivolity and low class antics. Once she is presentable enough, Barry becomes her pimp, securing her high class lovers. This development shatters young Jeanne's dreams of a monogamous life with her adored Barry and although reluctant, she has no choice but to do his bidding. His ambitions will eventually bring her to the attention of the King, who is still mourning the loss of his beloved Madame de Pompadour. As much as Louis is enchanted with this new lovely temptress, his family and the court at Versailles has no interest in this common Paris courtesan, resolving to effectively ignore the King's latest plaything. Told in chapters alternating between Madame du Barry's rise to grace the highest bed in the land and chapters centered on Madame Adelaide, one of Louis's daughters who is vehemently against du Barry and what she sees as an attack on her and her sisters' very royalty, the story pits the two women against each other. Adelaide's loathing and her entitlement as a daughter of France makes it clear just what forces Jeanne is up against and how she will be ostracized, even with the King on her side. Jeanne is a much less political creature than the mistresses who preceded her and she is less able to play the games required at court, presenting herself simply as herself, a stunningly beautiful, sweetly kind woman who wants very much to be accepted and liked. Madame Adelaide, by contrast, is not only much higher in the hierarchy but very aware of her own consequence, certain of what she is owed, commanding and rigid and determined to make life for this palace interloper unpleasant. Beneath her haughty and unpleasant manner though, is the heart of a girl who doesn't understand why her father no longer holds her in the esteem he once did and who desperately seeks to regain the love she has lost. The power games within the sheltered walls of the court start to take on a brittle tone as the clamor for a more populace focused government becomes louder and louder, occasionally even leaking into the otherwise sheltered palace. Christie has deftly juxtaposed the rigid piety of Adelaide with the sensual profligacy that brings du Barry to court in the last years of Louis XV's life. But she also shows the insularity of the court, not only in regards to protecting their own consequence but also as regards the feelings of the majority outside the walls of their unreal world. People starve for want of bread while the princesses royale spend millions of livres on vacations and other frivolities and du Barry accepts fantastically expensive jewels and the lavish lifestyle she certainly knows from her own upbringing to be excessive. Both women are sheltered from the reality of the outside world because of their residence in Versailles and although Madame Adelaide sees and resents some of the seeds of the coming revolution, she cannot conceive of a general public who would truly destroy everything she's ever known. Jeanne, for all her sexual knowledge, is rather naive and so she too fails to discern the mood outside the gates, focused as she is first on Adelaide's dislike of her and then on the young dauphine, Marie Antoinette's. This final book doesn't finish with the death of Louis XV and Jeanne's banishment from court but instead follows both Jeanne and Adelaide as the Revolution swirls around them, changing the trajectory of their lives forever. This allows the reader to see how Louis XV's reign, his choices and his attitude, led so clearly to the brutal bloodbath that was the Revolution in full flower. This is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy for sure, a fascinating and engrossing read. Those who have read and enjoyed the first two will definitely want to read this. Those who haven't yet read the first two can jump into the history and the story here without missing a beat.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The last of Louis XV's mistresses - Madame du Barry - comes to life in this final installment of the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. Born an illegitimate child into the lowest social order, Jeanne du Barry rose to become the mistress of the French king during his last few years - a position which placed her in opposition to the king's daughters and the young queen-to-be Marie Antoinette. I enjoyed Jeanne's spirit, which I feel the author captured well, and I was saddened by her end. This is a must-read for historical fiction fans!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the third and final volume in the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. The series has focused on the court of Louis XV and his rather extensive list of ladies. This chapter closes out his life with his last mistress, the woman who history knows as the Comtesse du Barry. She was far from noble, in fact her early life was very hard. Her only asset was her amazing beauty and she used it as soon as she could to get out of the lower class – although she became a prostitute for lack of a better word. While living with the Comte du Barry she catches the eye of the king who was a bit afloat after the loss of his last mistress. Our heroine with her quick wit and great beauty soon is all the king can think about.She is not at all popular with the nobility in place despite the fact that she makes the king happy. Nor is she welcomed by the extremely uptight royal sisters. They must of course, remain sororal at all times. The eldest of the sisters, Adelaide plays a significant role in this tale as she tries to steer her father down a more righteous path but he is not exactly a man that would choose to ignore his earthly erm, pleasures.I found this trip back to the court of Louis XV to be time well spent at least for the pages that were inhabited by the delightful Comtesse – for her life before and after her rise to the heights of power. When the pages were driven by Adelaide I wanted to choke her. I really do not like this character and that has held firm through all three books. That is a testament to Ms. Christie and she must have been one obnoxious woman. Not Ms. Christie but Madame Adelaide. The book ends at the height of the French Revolution so it does not end happy – but I’m not spoiling any tales as all of this is history. The ending stayed with me, I will note that.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the third and final volume in the Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. The series has focused on the court of Louis XV and his rather extensive list of ladies. This chapter closes out his life with his last mistress, the woman who history knows as the Comtesse du Barry. She was far from noble, in fact her early life was very hard. Her only asset was her amazing beauty and she used it as soon as she could to get out of the lower class – although she became a prostitute for lack of a better word. While living with the Comte du Barry she catches the eye of the king who was a bit afloat after the loss of his last mistress. Our heroine with her quick wit and great beauty soon is all the king can think about.She is not at all popular with the nobility in place despite the fact that she makes the king happy. Nor is she welcomed by the extremely uptight royal sisters. They must of course, remain sororal at all times. The eldest of the sisters, Adelaide plays a significant role in this tale as she tries to steer her father down a more righteous path but he is not exactly a man that would choose to ignore his earthly erm, pleasures.I found this trip back to the court of Louis XV to be time well spent at least for the pages that were inhabited by the delightful Comtesse – for her life before and after her rise to the heights of power. When the pages were driven by Adelaide I wanted to choke her. I really do not like this character and that has held firm through all three books. That is a testament to Ms. Christie and she must have been one obnoxious woman. Not Ms. Christie but Madame Adelaide. The book ends at the height of the French Revolution so it does not end happy – but I’m not spoiling any tales as all of this is history. The ending stayed with me, I will note that.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The book focuses on the last official mistress of Louis XV, Jeanne Becu, better known as Comtesse du Barry. Coming from humble origins she gets a lot of enemies on her way to Versailles and one of them is Madame Adelaide, daughter of the king.I’ve never liked the women in these books but still somehow loved the books. I don’t know why but here it didn’t work out so well. They were both selfish and wanted the easy life. Adelaide might know Greek but knows nothing about real life. And Jeanne practically grew on the streets; you would think that kicked some sense into her but no. She certainly wasn’t picked for her wits for sure… Even Marie Antoinette was silly and frivolous but even she grew up a bit (too late but still) when needed.I did feel sad about Louis XV, though. I haven’t been a huge fan of him but I could feel his frustrations with his grandson. Of course, he didn’t help his grandson’s time as a king. Getting a kingdom on a brink of a revolution and debauched life Louis lived and money spending…I would have liked if it was better stated in what year we were because suddenly you notice the story jumped 2 years, 10 years…Overall I think this was ok. Which is a shame because I really loved the previous books and in this, I didn’t really care if people got guillotined or not.

Book preview

The Enemies of Versailles - Sally Christie

Part I

Convergence

1750–1769

Chapter One

In which little Jeanne Bécu is exposed to life

I slip away from the warmth of the kitchen and out into the deserted hall. Behind me, my mother is elbow-deep in a giant bowl of flour and spices, gossiping to a neighbor, while four chickens roast over the fire. Out here, life is colder and grander. I creep up the marble staircase that rises before me like a giant ladder to Heaven, the banister smooth under my hand. I reach the landing and crouch in silence, but I heard Frederica leave earlier. She left behind a trace of her scent when she wafted down the elegant staircase, her special blend of roses and grace.

I creep along the passageway and peek into Frederica’s boudoir. If she were here, I might get a kiss and a bonbon, or a slap depending on her mood, but now the room is deserted. I enter and the plush carpet softens my steps. A painting of Monsieur Dumonceaux, who owns the house and Frederica and everything in it, looks down on me. Monsieur Dumonceaux is an old lover of my mother’s, and he brought us to Paris and gave us our lodgings. He’s not a lover anymore—Frederica is now his lover—but he is always kind to us, and Ma says he is a good man.

His portrait watches over Frederica, but when she has a new guest, she asks the footman to cover it. The rest of her room is cozy and sumptuous: a fire still licking lazily in the hearth; a wardrobe so big I once slept in there, hidden for hours; crimson curtains hanging over the tall, airy windows; a marble table set with a decanter of a wonderful-smelling potion called brandy, which always makes me think of men and candy. I sniff at the little array of perfume bottles on her table then head to my destination: her bed with its layers of green silk sheets and heavy white furs, lace and velvet trimming the pillows. A mattress as soft as a dream welcomes me down in its embrace, so different from my pallet in the kitchen. I burrow under the heavy blankets and nestle in. Ma always says I am lazy, but I’m not lazy, I think as I drift off to sleep, just . . . happy.

And what have we here? says Frederica in her bright, charmed voice, the one she uses with Monsieur Dumonceaux and her other gentlemen. Frederica has dark, curling hair, and laughing blue eyes that can turn as cold and hard as gems. The man with her this evening is not Monsieur Dumonceaux but an older gentleman with watery eyes, wearing an orange coat that reminds me of the skin of a cat.

I am sleepy and dreaming under the pile of furs. I smile up at Frederica, then at the man as well; Frederica’s moods are always changing, but men are generally pleasant.

Little scamp, says Frederica fondly, and tousles my hair. Now go on back to your mother, and tell her that Monsieur de Braque here will want a juicy chicken later.

Such a charming child! declares the man, who must be the Monsieur de Braque who wants a juicy chicken. And what harm would there be, were she to stay? he asks, raising his brows at Frederica, as though making a joke, though I know he isn’t.

Oh, quiet, Jérôme, says Frederica, laughing and picking me up roughly. I avert my eyes from the man’s gaze and struggle to pull down my dress that is now tangled around my waist. She’s only a child.

Ten? asks the man eagerly. How lovely she is!

Seven, I want to protest, but I don’t say anything, for suddenly I want to get out of the room and away from the man’s watered green eyes. The color of scum on a pond, I think with a shudder, and squirm against Frederica to let me down. I hear the soft tinkle of her laughter, raindrops on smooth glass, and she pushes me out. Get back to the kitchens, she hisses before closing the door. Now, la, monsieur, to be so interrupted . . . I hear her say as she turns back to her evening entertainment.

I lean against the door but the thick oak muffles the scene behind. I imagine what they will be doing, dogs rutting in the street that stay together, joined and panting, even after slops are thrown on them.

Joined and panting, I think, traipsing languidly down the corridor now that Frederica is safe with her guest. I stand at the top of the staircase and imagine, for one moment, that the house is mine, and that Frederica is my mother and instead of sleeping in the kitchen that reeks of raw chicken and mold, I have a room next to Frederica’s, and my own bed is as soft and glorious as hers.

A few days later, another push, but this time out onto the streets. We hear Frederica shouting at Dumonceaux that I am a little tramp, tempting her clients, and claiming she has no more use for us. Ma loses her position as cook and now we have to leave the comfortable house and all her clients in the neighborhood who buy her chickens.

Snozzle-faced bitch, complains my mother. We gather our belongings off the street and prepare for the long walk to my stepfather’s house. My feet are bare, though it is cold out; I can’t ruin my only pair of shoes in this mud.

"What sort of a woman is threatened by a seven-year-old child?" Ma continues, spitting and glaring up at the impassive windows of the little house.

A porter from next door watches us without curiosity. An angel in the making, he says, gesturing to me. She’ll be trouble all her life.

Come on, dears, let’s get going. Ma’s lover, the monk Guimard, stands beside us in our distress. He leans over and hoists a sheet filled with heavy iron pots, my mother’s treasure and trade. I never liked her, but at least Dumonceaux still does right by us.

But how does he do right by us if we cannot live in his house anymore? I ask, but no one answers. I am dragging a basket filled with our clothes, vainly trying to avoid puddles and the deep mud as we start our journey. It will take us two hours at least to cross the city and already the October night is cold and the streets grim.

Well, aren’t we a raggedy bunch! says the monk Guimard in his jolly way, always ready with a kind word or funny story. I wish he were my father, but whenever I say that my mother tells me to be quiet, or he will be arrested for indecency. Joseph and Mary without an inn, he continues, and with a little babe in arms. That’s you, Jeanne. But time will be our friend; chickens are always in demand and your skills are beyond compare, he adds kindly to my mother, wobbling slightly under his burden as he steps over a dead dog.

Rançon will take us in, says Ma, carrying her enormous copper kettle and a heavy gridiron, referring to her husband and the man she says I must call father. And at least we don’t have to worry about Jeanne.

Why don’t you have to worry about me? I ask, jumping quickly out of the way as a magnificent six-horsed carriage roars by.

Monsieur Dumonceaux has agreed to take on your education, my mother says.

I stop. What do you mean, Ma? I ask, thinking, I don’t know why, of the man’s green watery eyes and the hungry way they devoured me.

He has agreed to send you to a convent, where you’ll be educated and even learn your letters. Imagine that!

A convent! Oh no! I cry, thinking of the convent on the corner of our street and the grim black-clad nuns that circle in the courtyard. Nothing goes in or out: What do they even eat?

Ah, now don’t cry, says the monk Guimard kindly. Nuns can be dear ladies, I remember one particularly fine young novice when I was young—

Shhh, hisses Ma. You talk too much. It’ll be the Bastille for you, one of these days. Careful—I know that pig—took a chunk of Madame Fargé’s ankle last week. She pulls me away from a snortling boar that has started following us.

I trundle on, crying now, because I don’t want to disappear into a convent and leave Ma and the monk Guimard. And I may never see Frederica’s room again, never burrow in her soft sheets, never be treated to butter bonbons and little drops of her scent. My fate has been decided, I think, sobbing openly now as we walk wearily through the dark streets. I am to go to a convent, and I’m quite sure they won’t have any satin sheets for me there.

Chapter Two

In which Madame Adélaïde contemplates sisters and all things sororal

Do tell us about the convent, dears, says Henriette, smiling kindly at my two youngest sisters.

Sophie and Louise are seated opposite us on the sofa, looking like two frightened rose-clad hares. Well, Sophie at least; Louise appears quite calm. They returned last week from the convent at Fontrevraud, where they were sent for their education twelve years ago. I too had been destined to go with them, but with my wiles and charm managed to escape that fate.

I incline my head, to show that they may answer, then sit up straighter, hopeful that Victoire, slouching beside me, will copy my example. Victoire returned a year ago, ahead of her two younger sisters, but she has been woefully slow in learning the way of our manners here at Versailles. She still eats with her mouth open and last week even addressed one of her ladies as Madame Comtesse, not Madame la Comtesse!

To be a daughter of France is an enormous burden; a sacrifice of the self on the altar of obligation and duty. Our conduct—and here I talk of my sisters, as well as, of course, my brother the dauphin, and Josepha, his wife—must be exemplary; no stain must touch us, of either the amoral, indulgent sort, or of the more practical kind, like ink.

In all we do, we must strive to be better than others, for indeed, we are better than others. But Victoire ignores my rigid spine and just takes another cream pastry from the plate and slouches back happily.

Eleven years away. Henriette sighs. And now the six of us, here together. How wonderful! My elder sister looks around in contentment, her eyes resting on each of us in turn. In addition to my three younger sisters, our eldest sister Élisabeth, known as Madame Infanta and Henriette’s twin, is also with us. Little Félicité—my only memory is of a pink-faced baby who cried too much—remains behind in the graveyard at Fontrevraud.

Well? What did you learn? asks Élisabeth lazily. Élisabeth is very plump and has tiny black eyes, similar to the Malaga raisins she constantly eats.

Sophie blushes. I can’t imagine what there is to blush about at a convent, but her timidity pleases me. Victoire has already proved herself agreeably tractable, though a little scattered.

Oh, we won’t bore you, sisters, says Louise, speaking out of turn—Sophie is the elder and should have answered the question. I’m sure Victoire has already tired you quite silly with her tales. There just isn’t much to tell, really.

Victoire startles then nods, her mouth full of cream pastry.

Nonsense, says Henriette softly. You must tell us about the nuns and—

Well, Victoire did tell us quite a bit, I cut in, deciding that Louise has talked quite enough. And I can’t imagine it much changed. A convent is the very definition of timelessness.

Rather like Versailles, says Élisabeth, raising an eyebrow at me. She returned last year from Spain, where she was sent eleven years ago to marry a Spanish prince. Now she is en route to her husband’s new kingdom of Parma, bringing her high-and-mighty manners with her, and never failing to remind us how little we have changed, and how infantile she considers us.

Though we welcomed her back with duty and love in our hearts, in truth she irks me. She feels superior simply because she has been to Spain and married. Knows the pleasures of the marriage bed, as she likes to point out, an expression that has already caused Victoire much mortification. I shudder that Sophie’s and Louise’s purity may also be compromised by her crass words.

No matter; Élisabeth is set to leave next month. November 18.

Yes, Versailles is rather constant, says Victoire happily, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. Heavens! I fear I shall choke on my (small and modestly sized) bite of the pastry. Always the same routines and such. But I like it here, and I am sure you will too.

Did you at least learn to ride? asks Élisabeth, before I can. Just because she is married to a Spaniard, she believes she has the monopoly on inquisitions, I think sourly. Élisabeth has very bad skin—the Spaniards are notorious for their filth—and wears her hair in a curiously oiled style.

Yes, we did, answers Louise. Though Sophie doesn’t like horses—she’s rather scared of them.

Sophie blushes again.

Oh, so am I! exclaims Victoire. Victoire has a rather unusual dislike of all animals, except for cooked ones.

Victoire could barely ride at all when she came back last year, but now with enough practice she is passable, I concede. In truth, her failing was our pleasure: under the pretext of lessons, all summer we rode out with Papa, and those mornings were truly the happiest of times. I smile at my thought: if Sophie and Louise are similarly lacking, perhaps we might continue the tradition next spring.

Well, I’m sure Sophie will learn soon enough, adds Henriette, smiling at all of us. Henriette is very soft and kind—a little too kind, I believe.

A commotion outside—the Duchesse de Beauvilliers, our dame d’honneur, enters and alerts us that the king is back early from the hunt and is coming here for his débottée, the ceremony to take off his boots. Here! To Élisabeth’s apartments! And heavens—an hour before we expected him!

Versailles is certainly not unchanging!

Oh my, and we haven’t even finished our pastries! cries Victoire in distress.

How lovely to see Papa, and we only saw him yesterday! says Henriette happily, as she says every day. He does like to see us all together—six sisters.

Sisters, whispers Sophie, grinning like the simpleton I am beginning to suspect she is.

And coming to see us before going up to see the fish woman! I announce, referring to my father’s detested mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour. An excellent sign. But straighten your sleeves! I snap at Victoire, who always manages to look perfectly untidy. Has Beauvilliers told the women to bring the refreshments in early? And the lights—are they sufficient? The late-afternoon sun is still strong enough, though perhaps more candles—

Indeed the king is coming, says Louise, looking around as though in amusement. I resolve to talk to her about her tone of voice—she sounds almost sarcastic, though I am sure that is not her intent. A little lecture will no doubt have a reforming effect.

Get my daughter! hisses Élisabeth to Beauvilliers, and quickly. Little Isabelle, Élisabeth’s child and our only niece—though married for four years, our sister-in-law the dauphine has only managed two stillborn sons—is Papa’s only grandchild. Élisabeth seeks to endear the child to the king, but as Papa can’t abide dribbles or snivels, thus far she has not been very successful.

The doors fly open and my father enters, bringing with him his attendants and the men in their blue hunting garb with high yellow boots, now stained with mud and blood. Their dogs scamper in eagerly, tumbling over themselves and barking away. Of course, if one wishes to see Papa, one must endure the presence of men, but their masculine energy positively smothers Élisabeth’s delicate salon.

Papa settles into an armchair and a valet removes his hat and wig while another attendant tousles a cloth through his sweat-streaked hair. He looks so handsome, flushed and hearty from his afternoon in the forests. He is almost forty and in the prime of his life: a more resplendent man France, or the world, has never known. My heart swells with love and pride—dear Papa.

His hair mopped, Papa looks around and all fall silent as the great moment approaches. The Duc de Villars stops hitting the bust of Venus with his crop, and the Marquis de Meuse inches closer, breathing heavily and almost falling over the Prince de Soubise in the process. Vill—no Meu—no, Richelieu, you may have the honor, Papa says, his eyes finally coming to rest on the Duc de Richelieu. That was an excellent kill of that stag.

Richelieu—a man I positively despise—smirks and settles on one rather shaky knee to do the honor of taking off the king’s boots. As each one is taken off, it is replaced by a brocaded slipper, respectfully handed by the Duc d’Aumont, respectfully taken from a gilt-crusted box held by two valets.

Three times since September, whispers Henriette dubiously. Henriette loves everyone, but even she finds fault with Richelieu, a man the priests call the devil’s footman. Papa certainly honors him.

Four times, I correct her—Richelieu took over last week when Papa thought to honor the old Maréchal de Saxe, who fell while attempting to kneel down. Though I cannot criticize him, Papa really should spread his favors to more virtuous men. I look around at the assembled company, but come up short in terms of someone more suitable.

Ah, wonderful, Papa says as the trays of refreshments arrive, followed by the rest of our ladies. There is a small wait as a glass of ale is passed down through the lines of respective attendants until it reaches the Duc d’Aumont, who proudly hands it to the king. Papa takes a sip and waves his hand, indicating his courtiers are off ceremony. Richelieu makes a beeline for the Marquise de l’Hôpital, the Comte de Leddie feeds two of the hunting dogs some cake, and I see with horror that the Duc de Chartres is about to slip over toward Henriette. Heavens, no! The duke had once asked for my sister’s hand in marriage, but was suitably refused. Just in time Papa motions us all over to him.

The six of us advance in unison to ring his chair. He looks up at us in pleasure, his delight genuine. All six of you here, together. What a delight. And how are you settling in, my dears? he says to Sophie and Louise.

Very well, Papa, Louise says as Sophie blushes. It is most agreeable to be home. They chat awhile and I watch them, alert to where I might jump in and stop her prattling, for I fear she is boring Papa. Louise has a certain confidence that I find rather unnerving in one so young. And intelligence too, though surely she is not as intelligent as I—I don’t think she knows any Greek, or even Latin, for that matter.

Papa turns to Élisabeth. My dear, you will leave us soon, he says. How we shall miss you. Élisabeth curtsies and rises with a look of pained sorrow.

We are devastated, Papa, all of us, I say, inching closer, wondering if he will notice and comment on the book of Confucius I hold in my hand.

Mmmm, acknowledges Papa, still smiling at Élisabeth.

Dearest Father—Élisabeth always calls him Father, an affectation at once annoying and provoking—what sorrow as each day brings us closer to our departure! And little Isabelle: she cannot sleep for crying, such is her sorrow over leaving her grandpapa. Élisabeth darts her eyes to the door, but Beauvilliers has not yet returned with the girl.

Can’t sleep for crying? Indeed? says Papa, and I see he is delighted at this lie.

Nonsense, Élisabeth, I cut in. "Her nursemaid tells me she sleeps like a sheep. But I can scarcely sleep, for—"

Alas, says Papa, draining his glass and handing it to Victoire, who turns pink at the honor, such is the fate of kings, to have their daughters depart for far lands. He looks us over fondly again, then his eyes seek out the ladies standing or sitting behind us. Élisabeth, you are not the only one who must depart. Where is our dear friend the Comtesse de Narbonne, who is to accompany you? Her mother is sorely troubled, for her delightful daughter is only fifteen.

Indisposed, says Élisabeth shortly. Narbonne is pregnant and was retching all morning; she has been banished until she can learn to control her emotions better. Suddenly Élisabeth kneels on the floor in front of Papa and takes his hands in hers. What is she doing?

It is the sad fate of princesses to be separated from their beloved parents, says Élisabeth, staring up at Papa in perfect filial piety. I burn with anger that I did not think of such a pose, then burn more at her next words: You must let me know what we can do from Italy to help my dear sisters get married—there is, of course, the King of Sardinia, who would be most suitable, and have we quite given up on Prince Charles?

Betrayal, I think, glaring at Élisabeth, who is looking ever so smug in her pious pose on the floor. That she would wish her own tarnished fate upon the rest of us! The threat of marriage and all its horrors—the terrors of a foreign land and the bestial side of men—hangs in constant heaviness over our heads. Papa is the only man we need to love. Victoire turns bright red and I can feel Sophie start to tremble beside me. Louise’s composure has left her and now she has the darting, hunted look of a mouse. One of her shoulders inches higher.

Indeed, says my father, oblivious to the distress Élisabeth’s words have caused. He rises and instantly the room falls silent. The Marquis de Meuse rushes over to fit Papa’s wig back on his head. I forgot to mention—there have been Sardinian inquiries for Sophie. Now I would bathe, then stop by the Marquise’s before the evening.

He leaves with his retinue, a great clattering of men and dogs and smells, and the salon is once again restored to feminine harmony.

Sophie moans and covers her face with her hands.

Oh no! cries Victoire. Not Sophie! Oh, terrible, terrible news! She stops an attendant gathering the refreshments and takes a violent swig from one of the men’s ale glasses. Victoire is menaced by Ferdinand of Spain, but his queen is not dying as expected. Victoire prays nightly for her continued good health.

Why did you say that, Élisabeth? chides Henriette gently. You know how talk of marriages distresses us, and now look at poor Sophie. Thank goodness the Stuart prince wasn’t able to reclaim his throne, or Henriette would be in England now. England, for goodness’ sake, where they pour their tea themselves and can’t even bathe properly. Recently there was another scare with the Elector of Bavaria, but at twenty-two, Henriette now feels the safety of her years.

I myself am only seventeen, and though I can see the journey’s end and sense the sweet reward, I still consider myself in danger. That I am the most attractive of my sisters is without a doubt, and my beauty has even caused romantic indiscretions: when I was fifteen, a lace merchant, at the palace to show his wares, declared himself impossibly in love with me. He was taken to the Bastille, of course, but I was secretly pleased, for that dalliance has made me more worldly than my sisters.

Louise is the most vulnerable—she is twelve, the perfect age for a princess to marry—but she stuffs the left shoulder of her gowns with rags to raise it higher than the other, to pretend she is a cripple. She started this conceit before leaving the convent and I feel a small prick of jealousy, for it is rather a clever move.

Sophie looks around wildly, a lamb about to be shorn.

Never fear, dear sisters, we will not let this happen! Never, I say firmly, glaring at Élisabeth. I pat Sophie’s trembling arm. She knows I will protect her. Sardinia! And Sophie has told us how much she hates fish!

She’ll never survive the childdeath, says Victoire, hiccuping dolefully into her glass of ale. I mean the childbirth. Beauvilliers’ cousin died last week; she was only fifteen, and as small as Sophie. Victoire collects the names of women who have died in childbirth, a rather morbid hobby in one usually so placid and happy.

Beauvilliers enters with the little Princess Isabelle.

You quite missed him! snaps Élisabeth as the child is deposited on her lap. She starts to tidy her daughter’s hair and looks around at us complacently, unmoved by our distress. I only want what is best for Papa and for France. And for yourselves—you must know the pleasure that comes from being a mother. She kisses Isabelle’s head and the child twists around and yanks on her mother’s pearled choker. Dribbling little hoyden, I think in disgust.

Oh, but, sister, to leave Versailles and Papa and go far away—we are not as strong as you are, says Henriette in genuine affliction.

We are as strong, I snap, "but Hen is entirely right—who would want to leave Versailles? And go somewhere dreadful, like Parma?"

Do you have no wish for a natural life? Élisabeth cuts back. And is that not woman’s fate as prescribed by the Bible? Quite frankly, I am glad Papa is considering marriages for you. Perhaps he is coming to his senses.

Treason, I hiss as Sophie continues to moan and Victoire starts sobbing, to talk of our father that way! As though he were not of his senses!

I only speak the truth, says Élisabeth mildly. Father has been sadly remiss in his duty of finding you husbands. Lazy, even.

Only from his love for us! I shout, my heart beginning to palpitate madly. What insubordination! I realize I am gripping Sophie’s arm rather tightly. Little Isabelle starts wailing for no reason, and I have a sudden image of tops, hundreds of them, spinning out of control over a vast parquet floor. You must never talk of our father in that way again, I say, struggling to modulate my voice. It is my duty to control this chaos; I must not snap under the pressure. November 18, I think grimly, November 18, and then order will be restored.

There, there. I pat Sophie again, her little arm reminding me of a bird’s wing. We will never let this happen, never! I will do all in my power—and my influence with Papa is great—to avoid this calamity.

When I was six—it is my most treasured memory—I ran and beseeched my father not to send me to the convent with my younger sisters. Since that time I know he can refuse me nothing and I will not hesitate to use my charms on him again. I sit down and enjoy a quiet moment with my image of the scene: myself with tears in my eyes, humbly beseeching Papa—perhaps I might strike that pose on the floor that Élisabeth just used to such effect—as he looks down fondly at me, perhaps with tears in his eyes too!

Little Isabelle slips off her mother’s lap, pursued by a hapless nursemaid.

"I don wan go! No quiero—" Whump! The little girl trips over the edge of the carpet and goes flying, hitting her head on the corner of one of the gilt sofas.

November 18, I think again as the tops finally stop spinning and make one last turn before coming to rest in silence on the floor.

Chapter Three

In which Jeanne develops a fear of falling

The bed is far too narrow for two, and the mattress is just a hard wisp of an idea, a rough straw pallet barely a finger thick. The bells start tolling at five, even before the sun starts to rise. The door flies open, and at the end of the vast dormitory a ragged crow in black calls out to us to rise and consecrate our day to God.

We tumble out of bed in sleepy silence and start to dress over our shifts. Even though it is a hot July morning, we must never be naked, for nakedness is a sin. There are many, many sins, and the threat of their constant presence keeps the nuns very busy.

Outside, the day is brightening, but inside, the long attic room is still dark. I climb into my white wool dress and then comb my friend Charlotte’s hair with my fingers and secure it under her bunting. She is about to do mine when Hermine pushes her away. You don’t know how, she hisses, pulling my locks. You always make a mess of hers.

Oh, I don’t care who does my hair, I say. Really. But do hurry, or Sister George will be back again. A lie; I want Hermine to do my hair, but don’t want Charlotte to feel bad.

Hermine produces a small comb from under her mattress, a hidden luxury, and starts to untangle my hair. For a precious moment I am back with Frederica combing my hair and calling me her little angel, perched on her lap at the toilette table, bathed in the scent of rose powder. I hate wearing the bunting and the veil; I want my hair loose and free over my shoulders. Once a month we bathe and wash our hair and that is my happiest day; when I am older, I will wash my hair every day.

"You’re so pretty,’ whispers Charlotte. I smile, for I like being told I am pretty. I wish I had a mirror, that I could see for myself, but they are not allowed. I love my thick, blond hair—love is another sin, though I am not sure why—and the other girls love it too. After Hermine has combed it out, everyone touches it and we all agree it must feel as soft as satin. I’m the only one who has ever felt real satin, and I confirm it does. Sister George reenters, and deft as the thief her mother is reputed to be, Hermine slips the forbidden comb into her sleeve.

What is happening here? says Sister George harshly, coming toward our little cluster. She softens as she sees me in the center. Ah, Jeanne, and how are you this morning, my angel?

I murmur something and look at the floor. Sister George takes the cloth from Hermine and proceeds to wind it around my head, stroking me and soothing my hair into it. Sister George makes me uneasy; she is always looking at me as though she is hungry and I am a cake she wants to eat. Once she even took me on her lap, and I was shocked because I never thought nuns could hug like mothers.

Now! Off to the chapel with you all, she says, giving my head one last caress. I take off with the other girls, running and tumbling out the door. The only time we are allowed to run is when we are on the way to God. I remember at Frederica’s how I used to run up and down the staircase, and sometimes even up and down the street in those happy days before I was sent to this convent. Punished, and all because of that man with the dirty green eyes.

Now mornings, afternoons, and days pass long and dreary inside the thick stone walls of the convent. When I first came I cried, a lot, but soon I learned to be happy—even in this grim prison there are things to smile about. I have so many friends, and some of the nuns adore me—some perhaps too much—and lessons are never taxing. We learn the Bible, of course, but in addition to our catechism we are taught reading and writing, and how to keep account books. I hate numbers. There is also lots of sewing: we sew for the poor children and for the fallen women, endless lengths of scratchy cream linen we make into rough skirts and capes. It seems that once a woman has fallen, she can no longer sew for herself.

The nuns watch over us like hawks, afraid that we too will fall. Bastards and girls with no fathers, like most of the little girls here, are in the most danger of falling. Though what we might fall into is less clear.

Perhaps they don’t want us to fall down? says Hermine dubiously.

It’s because bad women don’t have shoes, says little Annette solemnly. And then they trip and fall down. We only have yellowed calf slippers that are too thin and in the winter our feet feel like lumps of ice. Annette has a bad cough and what the sisters call the devil’s lungs; I hope she doesn’t die like her sister Marie last year.

They don’t want us to fall into wells, or out of windows, says Charlotte. We nod, for Charlotte is older and more knowledgeable. The well in the courtyard is covered, tightly, and only the porteress, a beefy woman who smells of sweat and something darker, is strong enough to uncover it. The windows don’t open properly, and they are too small to fall out of in any case.

"But we fall asleep every night," wails little Agnes, a shivering slip of a girl who, according to the rumors that seep around the convent, is the daughter of a hanged man.

But falling has nothing to do with sleeping, I add, though I am not entirely sure. Frederica was a fallen woman, I think, but her bed was so soft I gladly fell into it!

All we know is that fallen women are sent to Louisiana, where bears will eat them, or to the prison at La Salpêtrière, where they shave your head. From the narrow windows of our garret we can see onto the rue des Vignes, and once we saw a whole cartful of fallen women on their way to that dreaded prison. The women were calm, and some were even smiling, and none seemed to care too much.

My friend Charlotte is leaving next year to be apprenticed to a lace maker, far away in Passy. She doesn’t want to go and cries every night. I don’t know what Ma’s plans are for me; she comes once a month to visit but doesn’t bring the monk Guimard, whom I miss terribly. The nuns would not approve of a man of God in the company of a married lady, but I am not surprised: they do not approve of anything.

When it is warm enough, we crawl onto the roofs of the convent and watch the world in the streets below and marvel at the city that spread around us, hiding so many people and lives unknown to us. Sometimes I long to be out there in the squalor and energy of the streets, but other times, when the January cold bites us in half and pigeons freeze in the gutters, the thin blankets and thinner gruel of the convent seem like the greatest sanctuary in the world. The nuns have taught us that the outside world is a dangerous place, with many dangerous situations to fall into.

Look, says Charlotte, pointing into an uncurtained window across the street that we can see into from our perch on the roof. The room is small but seems like a beautiful gem box, draped in red and orange sheets.

Oh, how lovely! We watch as a woman pulls on a bright pink gown over her gray chemise. We both sigh—imagine wearing pink, not this horrid white that turns so fast to gray. The woman disappears from view and then we see her again in the street below.

I wonder where she is going? I say, following her movements toward the Palais du Luxembourg. She looks very small from up here, a forlorn pink dot. Would I like to be her, outside and all alone? I don’t know, but regardless, soon I must leave; no girl can stay here past her sixteenth birthday, and I am already fifteen.

The day when I must leave comes

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